Oh it has been quite a week! I can't believe that I just arrived one week ago today because it feels like so much longer. Right now, I am sitting in my new apartment. By far, the most stressful part of this week was the apartment hunt. It was probably more stressful than I anticipated. I'm guessing it was the combination of responding to probably 50 ads online and not getting responses, calling advertisements and getting few responses or finding out the place is already full and seeing apartments that were really just awful (really dirty, messy, bad locations, small, smelling like smoke, etc..,). I was not the only one going through this, so it was nice to commiserate with others in my program who were staying at the same hostel.
What I learned through all of this is the need to compromise. Nothing is perfect and that's ok. Hopefully, I won't be spending a ton of time sitting in my apartment but rather out working, exploring the city, hanging out with friends, or traveling. All I really need is a bed, bathroom, and perhaps a kitchen for the occasional times I decide to cook (though I hope for the sake of my bank account that I start remembering how to cook again).
I moved into my apartment earlier this week. I am living with a French girl and a Spanish girl. The French girl seems nice, our schedules have been off so I haven't seen her much. The spanish girl is still on vacation so I don't think I'll see her until sometime next week. I have a very tiny room (pictures to come, but i'm still in the unpacking phase and it's a little messy...) but am surprised at how little space I actually need. Otherwise, the apartment is clean, non-smoking (more difficult to find, especially if you want to live with nonamericans), and close enough that I can walk to the bus stop (at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, what a plus!). It's fine for right now, and I am only committed month to month, so am free to go somewhere else if I find a place I like. It's just a big relief for it all to be done!
Aside from that, this week has been a lot of errands and getting things organized. Definitely have been doing a lot of walking (for example, went to 5 different banks before I could get someone to cash my traveler's checks--probably won't be using those again!). I also opened a bank account, went to IKEA for the first time ever, (what a crazy store), rode the bus to see how to get to my school, and went to orientation. It's been nice being busy.
Today I went to temple in my 3rd Spanish speaking country--Peru, Chile, and now Spain (L'shana tova everyone!). It was definitely a lot smaller than I was used to (probably 50 people in total?), and longer! I left after about 4 hours and I'm not sure how far from the end we were... I do think it is cool to see how services are in other countries. I also get especially excited when I recognize a melody.
I'm hoping this weekend I will do some exploring of the city as well as meeting new people. I'm fortunate that I met a lot of really nice people at my hostel, but am also hoping to meet others. There are about 1400 people on my program here and I've probably met 30...I've got some work to do!
Will try to update soon, hopefully with pictures! I start work on Monday so I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about that...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
I made it! (24 hours late...)
Remember how I mentioned last post that I was worried about what would happen once I got to Madrid, and how I would navigate the airport and buses and make it to my hostel? I had no idea that it was getting to Madrid itself that would be the actual adventure...
I arrived at the airport, went through security, and got to my gate early. I ended up meeting another girl going to Spain doing the same program (auxiliares de conversación), but in a different city and we ended up chatting. I got on the plane around 6pm and we waited for a while. After about an hour, we were still at the gate because of a problem with the bathrooms. The girl behind me was another auxiliar so we chatted as well. I also made friends with a woman going to do volunteer work, a couple on their way to Rome. It almost surprised me how friendly and open people were. We finally started to pull away from the gate; we were finally going! not. While in the taxi line, an announcement was made that there was another mechanical problem and we had to return to the gate. An hour more of sitting, yet another mechanical problem, and we had to get off the plane. As we waited in the gate at the airport, hoping for any information as what to do next, we acquired about 5 more auxiliares. Maybe it was those big backpacks that gave us away... It was nice though to have a group of 8-10 to spend this extra airport time with.
We ate at the food court, waiting for any sort of instructions. Finally at 11:30, our flight was cancelled, rescheduled for the same time tomorrow. There were now about 150 people waiting around, unsure of where to go and what to do next. We were brought down to baggage claim told to get all of our luggage, then had to hand in our ticket stubs so they could reorganize all of our flights and connecting flights. It was a big mess. At around 12:30am, we were ready to be shipped off to the hotel for the night. Since it was so late there were no buses available, they put 100+ people in cabs, courtesy of Iberia. We had a lot of luggage, so we could only fit about 3 people in the big vans. That night was not a cheap one for Iberia Airlines... Our hotel was in Danvers MA, for those of you not from Boston, about 45 minutes from the airport. I can't say I had ever been there, and it was even farther from the city than my house. It was a hotel at a water park, but the water park wasn't even open. I finally got to my room around 2am and went to bed.
At 1pm the next day we were on a bus back to the airport, (not before waiting in the lobby for an hour though). We got our own check-in line, (never mind the fact that there are no international flights before 5pm and our own line was 2 people checking in 100+ people) and after another vouchered lunch we made it on the plane! And it took off! We did make sure to take a picture of (almost) all of us before we left...
I arrived at the airport, went through security, and got to my gate early. I ended up meeting another girl going to Spain doing the same program (auxiliares de conversación), but in a different city and we ended up chatting. I got on the plane around 6pm and we waited for a while. After about an hour, we were still at the gate because of a problem with the bathrooms. The girl behind me was another auxiliar so we chatted as well. I also made friends with a woman going to do volunteer work, a couple on their way to Rome. It almost surprised me how friendly and open people were. We finally started to pull away from the gate; we were finally going! not. While in the taxi line, an announcement was made that there was another mechanical problem and we had to return to the gate. An hour more of sitting, yet another mechanical problem, and we had to get off the plane. As we waited in the gate at the airport, hoping for any information as what to do next, we acquired about 5 more auxiliares. Maybe it was those big backpacks that gave us away... It was nice though to have a group of 8-10 to spend this extra airport time with.
We ate at the food court, waiting for any sort of instructions. Finally at 11:30, our flight was cancelled, rescheduled for the same time tomorrow. There were now about 150 people waiting around, unsure of where to go and what to do next. We were brought down to baggage claim told to get all of our luggage, then had to hand in our ticket stubs so they could reorganize all of our flights and connecting flights. It was a big mess. At around 12:30am, we were ready to be shipped off to the hotel for the night. Since it was so late there were no buses available, they put 100+ people in cabs, courtesy of Iberia. We had a lot of luggage, so we could only fit about 3 people in the big vans. That night was not a cheap one for Iberia Airlines... Our hotel was in Danvers MA, for those of you not from Boston, about 45 minutes from the airport. I can't say I had ever been there, and it was even farther from the city than my house. It was a hotel at a water park, but the water park wasn't even open. I finally got to my room around 2am and went to bed.
At 1pm the next day we were on a bus back to the airport, (not before waiting in the lobby for an hour though). We got our own check-in line, (never mind the fact that there are no international flights before 5pm and our own line was 2 people checking in 100+ people) and after another vouchered lunch we made it on the plane! And it took off! We did make sure to take a picture of (almost) all of us before we left...
So despite all the set backs, it really wasn't that bad. Tiring, yes, but having people to hang out with and commiserate with was nice. We're all placed in different parts of Spain, so it will be nice to have people to visit all over the country.
24+ hours later after my original time, my suitcases and I rolled into my hostel. The bus and cab from the airport couldn't have been easier. And I managed to stay up the whole day and beat jetlag. I'd call it a success. Well maybe not completely, let's chat once I have an apartment...
Monday, September 19, 2011
A new adventure!
Here we go again! My suitcases are packed and waiting downstairs, and I'm so proud of the fact that I have more than 12 hours until I leave and I will not have to rush around to finish packing (though I don't doubt I will be doing some last minute panicking tomorrow afternoon).
Though I've mentioned it to some, to those who don't know, I leave tomorrow to spend about nine months living in Madrid, Spain and working as an assistant English teacher. I am going through the Spanish Ministry of Education, which hires about 2000 English speaking young adults per year to teach all around Spain, and 1000 of them, myself included, will be in Madrid. I will be working at secondary school, 7th-12th graders, at a school about an hour commute from the city.
The adventure will begin immediately after I get off the plane, as I attempt to get to my hostel with my luggage, most likely using a combination of buses and taxis. Once I arrive, I will have to fit my luggage in my hostel locker (which most likely will not fit) and probably find somewhere else to store my stuff for the time being. I'm hoping that I won't be too tired to get started on those real world things I haven't had to do yet, such as buying a new cell phone (and trying to decipher between different plans) and open a Spanish bank account, but we'll see how productive I will end up being. The day might just begin with a long siesta...
The rest of my week will most likely consist of looking for apartments. I've searched a couple of websites and sent some emails, but most of it is hard to do without being there. There is no way to be sure any apartment will still be available when I arrive, and I am not committing to anything without seeing it. I have a feeling I will probably end up wandering up and down the streets i'm interested in living in, and seeing whether I can find things. I'm sure it won't be the most relaxing of experiences, but I will be excited when it is done. I'll be able to say I went apartment hunting in Spain...I haven't even done that here (unless you count the apartment on Wash Ave, but that wasn't necessarily hunting, more off a "let's look at one apartment and live here" kind of thing).
It's likely it will be a while before I update again, probably when I have an apartment, but that would mean I will have more stories and pictures! I will still be accessible by email (egshuster@gmail.com) or skype (emilyshuster) and would love to hear from you all! Thanks for reading!
Until next time, (in Madrid!)
Emily
Though I've mentioned it to some, to those who don't know, I leave tomorrow to spend about nine months living in Madrid, Spain and working as an assistant English teacher. I am going through the Spanish Ministry of Education, which hires about 2000 English speaking young adults per year to teach all around Spain, and 1000 of them, myself included, will be in Madrid. I will be working at secondary school, 7th-12th graders, at a school about an hour commute from the city.
The adventure will begin immediately after I get off the plane, as I attempt to get to my hostel with my luggage, most likely using a combination of buses and taxis. Once I arrive, I will have to fit my luggage in my hostel locker (which most likely will not fit) and probably find somewhere else to store my stuff for the time being. I'm hoping that I won't be too tired to get started on those real world things I haven't had to do yet, such as buying a new cell phone (and trying to decipher between different plans) and open a Spanish bank account, but we'll see how productive I will end up being. The day might just begin with a long siesta...
The rest of my week will most likely consist of looking for apartments. I've searched a couple of websites and sent some emails, but most of it is hard to do without being there. There is no way to be sure any apartment will still be available when I arrive, and I am not committing to anything without seeing it. I have a feeling I will probably end up wandering up and down the streets i'm interested in living in, and seeing whether I can find things. I'm sure it won't be the most relaxing of experiences, but I will be excited when it is done. I'll be able to say I went apartment hunting in Spain...I haven't even done that here (unless you count the apartment on Wash Ave, but that wasn't necessarily hunting, more off a "let's look at one apartment and live here" kind of thing).
It's likely it will be a while before I update again, probably when I have an apartment, but that would mean I will have more stories and pictures! I will still be accessible by email (egshuster@gmail.com) or skype (emilyshuster) and would love to hear from you all! Thanks for reading!
Until next time, (in Madrid!)
Emily
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)